CSR Core Issues

Today we will discuss about the core issues of CSR. Practically, four main aspects are emerging out of the diverse approaches to CSR:

1. Human rights
2. Labour (rights)
3. Community (stakeholder involvement is only one part of the company’s responsibility to the community) and
4. Environment.

It is also obvious that the social responsibility of a company cannot be limited to only internal affairs. In a world facing rapid globalisation, actors and institutions have a responsibility that goes far beyond their own home ground. Large multinational corporations as well as small and locally based businesses cannot close their eyes to human rights violations and unacceptable working conditions among suppliers or contract workers in distant parts of the world.

The same is the case for environmentally damaging operations.
The division between internal and external can be somewhat difficult to capture. In our understanding ‘internal’ is related to the condition in the company, while ‘external’ refers to a company’s responsibility within its “sphere of influence”. This might not be a good division for all companies. Many companies operate only in one country and have few relations to other parts of the world. Even if this is the case, there is hardly any company that does not buy raw materials or products from suppliers in other countries. However, the responsibility for the local community in which the company operates should not be forgotten and is a central element of corporate social responsibility. Therefore, the internal-external dimension is relevant also for businesses based in a western country with few ties to third world actors.

SA 8000 and its relationship with CSR

Part 3:
This article of mine is in response to the question asked by one of my blog viewer regading SA 8000 and its relationship with CSR.
Yes, they are related but to understand the difference, let me discuss SA 8000 first.

SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY 8000 is a comprehensive, global, verifiable standard for auditing and certifying compliance with social responsibility. The latest revision has been published in 2008. It is applicable to both small and large companies that want to demonstrate to customers and other stakeholders that they care. The heart of the standard is the belief that all workplaces should be managed in such a manner that basic human rights are supported and that management is prepared to accept accountability for this.

The intent of SA8000 is to provide a standard based on international human rights norms and national labour laws that will protect and empower all personnel within a company’s scope of control and influence, who produce products or provide services for that company, including personnel employed by the company itself, as well as by its suppliers/subcontractors, sub-suppliers, and home workers.

SA8000 is verifiable through an evidenced-based process. Its requirements apply universally, regardless of a company’s size, geographic location, or industry sector. Complying with the requirements for social accountability of this standard will enable a company to:
a) Develop, maintain, and enforce policies and procedures in order to manage those issues which it can control or influence
b) Credibly demonstrate to interested parties that existing company policies, procedures, and practices conform to the requirements of this standard.

An international perspective:
The standard was initiated by Social Accountability International (SAI). SAI is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the development, implementation, and oversight of voluntary verifiable social accountability standards.

The standard was developed and field-tested by the non-profit Council on Economic Priorities (CEP), and assisted by an international Advisory Board including representatives of prominent corporations, human rights organisations, certification professionals, academics, and labour.

Incorporating international labour rights:
The standard is based on a number of existing international human rights standards including the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. SA 8000 provides transparent, measurable, verifiable standards for certifying the performance of companies in nine essential areas:
1. Child Labour
2. Forced and Compulsory Labour
3. Health and Safety
4. Freedom of Association & Right to Collective Bargaining
5. Discrimination
6. Disciplinary Practices
7. Working Hours
8. Remuneration
9. Management Systems

An organisation certified to SA 8000 requirements proves that their Social Accountability System has been measured against a best practice standard and found compliant.
Issued by a third party certification body, the certificate lets customers know they can trust that you have implemented the necessary internal processes to ensure basic human rights for your employees.

SA 8000 and CSR:
Compliance to SA 8000 standard will ensure part compliance to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) requirements. SA 8000 primarily helps in managing and improving quality of life of the employees and their families who are part of a bigger society.
It will be worth mentioning here that SA 8000 certification does not really mean CSR compliance rather it initiates a journey towards CSR.

Sustainability Reporting - AA1000 Series of Standards

Sustainability Reporting
The AA1000 AccountAbility “Principles” standard is for organizations who want to implement Sustainability Management Systems - criteria for robust sustainability reporting. While, the AA1000 “Assurance” Standard provides a best practice approach to Sustainability Report Assurance, which helps to improve the external credibility of sustainability reporting and adds significant value to the reporting organization.
AccountAbility is a global non-profit network, established in 1995 to promote accountability innovations that advance sustainable development. AccountAbility works with business, government and civil society organisations to advance responsible business practices and the governance of collaborations between public and private institutions.
AccounAbility launched the AA1000 AA (Assurance Standard) and AA1000 APS (Accountability Principles Standard) in London on Oct 24, 2008.
AA1000 Series of Standards
AccountAbility's standards, the AA1000 Series, are principles-based standards for helping organisations become more accountable, responsible and sustainable.
They are for use by any type of organisation from multinational businesses, to SMEs, governments and civil society organisations. These standards are developed through multi-stakeholder consultation processes which ensure they are written for those they impact, not just those who may gain from them.
The AA1000 Series consists of:
AA1000 AccountAbility Principles Standard
(AA1000 APS) 2008 provide a better framework for an organisation to use in order to better identify, understand, prioritise and respond to its sustainability challenges.
AA1000 Assurance Standard
(AA1000 AS) 2008 is used to provide assurance on publicly available sustainability information, particularly CSR / Sustainability reports.

For more information: please visit http://www.accountability21.net/

ISO 26000 - Social Responsibility

Part 2: ISO 26000
I got few questions through email and the blog this week on ISO 26000. Many of you must be thinking – one more standard?
Let us have a panoramic view on this issue.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has decided to launch the development of an international standard providing guidelines for social responsibility.
ISO 26000 contains guidance, not requirements, and therefore will not be for use as a certification standard like ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004.
There are many stakeholders for this standard – industry, government, labour, consumers, nongovernmental organizations and Service, support, research & others. Actually, when a standard is published from the ISO stable, there is lot of expectations among the stakeholders. Present days, an ISO standard is almost synonymous with:
Use of best practice developed by existing public and private sector initiatives and effort to harmonize most of the available standards on Social Responsibility.
Global recognition
Designed to be implemented worldwide.
To substantiate these expectations, ISO 26000 will represent terms and conditions which will imply global recognition and a common basis for all actors engaged in these issues. It will be consistent with and complement relevant declarations and conventions by the United Nations and its constituents, notably the International Labour Organization (ILO), with whom ISO has established a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to ensure consistency with ILO labour standards. ISO has also signed an MoU with the United Nations Global Compact Office (UNGCO) to enhance their cooperation on the development of ISO 26000 and with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to ensure consistency with OECD guidelines.
The guidance standard is expected to be published in 2010 as ISO 26000 and be voluntary to use. It will neither be a certifiable standard, nor a management system standard, but a guiding standard applicable to all organisations – companies, non-governmental organisation, government bodies, and more.
The key topics in the document are:
Environment
Human rights and labour practices
Organisational governance and fair operating practices, and
Consumer issues and community involvement/society development.

The detailed content of ISO 26000 will evolve throughout its development process. The current (1st July 2008) working document covers the following :
Foreword
Introduction
1 Scope
2 Terms and definitions
3 Understanding social responsibility
4 Principles of social responsibility
5 Recognizing social responsibility and engaging stakeholders
6 Guidance on social responsibility core subjects
7 Guidance on implementing practices of social responsibility
Annex A – Social responsibility initiatives
Bibliography
Index

ISO 26000 will add value to existing initiatives for social responsibility by providing harmonized, globally relevant guidance based on international consensus among expert representatives of the main stakeholder groups and so encourage the implementation of best practice in social responsibility worldwide.

For more information on ISO 26000 and the ISO Working Group on Social Responsibility: www.iso.org/sr

CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) - A Journey from Shareholder to Stakeholder

Part 1. What is CSR ?

Exercising Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) means to strive for balance between the Environmental, Social, and Economic performance of your business.

World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)'s definition of CSR:
“Corporate social responsibility is the commitment of business to contribute to sustainable economic development, working with employees, their families, the local community and society at large to improve their quality of life.”

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be understood as a company's strategy on how to work towards sustainable development.

In brief:
• CSR involves increased efforts to align corporate goals with those of society
• CSR implies profitability being judged by a longer time frame

Will be continued....